The Content and Results of the Contemplative Practice of the Four Noble Truths

Eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa): the "self" here refers to the innately arisen view of self of the manas and the discriminated view of self of the mind consciousness, not the eradication of a view of self of the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha has no view of self and does not need to be eradicated. Only by having the mind consciousness and the manas engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the suffering, emptiness, and impermanence of the dharmas of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and eighteen realms can the manas and mind consciousness be brought to confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are not the self or what belongs to the self—not to have the tathāgatagarbha confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are not the self or what belongs to the self. No-self does not deny the existence of the tathāgatagarbha self; rather, it denies the real existence of the five aggregates and eighteen realms. 

Precisely because the five aggregates and eighteen realms are not real, unchanging dharmas within the mundane world, one should have the mind consciousness and the manas confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are without self, and no longer take the five aggregates and eighteen realms as the self or what belongs to the self. The result of the contemplative practice is not to have the mind consciousness and the manas confirm that the tathāgatagarbha is without self or that there is a tathāgatagarbha self, nor is it to have the tathāgatagarbha confirm that it is without self. Before the contemplative practice, one may acknowledge the existence of a tathāgatagarbha self, but the result of the contemplative practice should not land on the tathāgatagarbha, because what is being contemplated is the five aggregates and eighteen realms, not the tathāgatagarbha. The content of the contemplative practice must not be confused; otherwise, the result will be confused, leading to a failure to eradicate the view of self in accordance with reality.